Christmas Kick
by THeartsQT
Summary: On the day before the Furious Five is due to perform at the Emperor's Christmas Festival, Po receives a possibly fatal blow to the chest during a sparring match with Tigress. With the help of his friends, and Shifu's wisdom, can Po recover in time? And how will Po and Tigress make amends?
1. There Are No Accidents

"OOF!" cried Po, having just been kicked square (or should that be round?) in the stomach by his slightly-too-competent sparring partner, Tigress. He clutched it. "There goes my spleen," he wheezed, clutching his broad stomach.

"Po, would you like me to punch the wind out of you too? I'm rather good at aiming for diaphragms." Tigress was merciless, and yet she was smiling.

"Oh, yeah, nah, I'm good," groaned the panda. "But uh, we have the, you know, Christmas gig coming up for the emperor, and, uh, I think-" he stopped to pant. "I think I won't be able to make it tomorrow." He flopped down by the side of the training hall. "You guys... go ahead," he said, gesturing to the equipment.

The Furious Five, who had stopped training now out of concern for their friend, stood in disbelief. This was the Dragon Warrior, saviour of China, and not only was he cringing in pain from a _practice_ match, but as the most important performer he would not be showing up for the emperor.

"Po... I didn't kick you _that_ hard."

Po turned over to face them. He groaned loudly from the movement. "I dunno. Maybe ask Shifu if you accidentally did some special super powerful move or something."

"Doing a special move by _accident_?" Crane was sceptical. "You do know the chance of that, right?"

"Maybe that's why it's the first time it's happened," reasoned Mantis.

"Hm. But I think we should still go to Master Shifu," said Viper. "Po? What do you think?"

The black and white mass on the floor grunted in consent.

"S'ok buddy, we'll see what's going on," comforted Monkey. "Unless you're faking it. We'll figure that out too."

Po managed a smile as the Five left the room. But as Tigress was about to walk through the door, she turned back to the panda in pain, his suffering her own fault.

She sighed, then called to the others, "Guys, I'll stay with Po to see if my kick's maybe done anything irregular or dangerous. I mean, I am the one who hurt him..." She trailed off.

Mantis called back, "Don't worry Tigress, accidents happen. For Po they happen so often his whole _life_ is a mistake. Well, it kind of is- he wouldn't be Dragon Warrior if hadn't been for an accident- so maybe this mistake will turn out as good as the last one."

Tigress walked back into the training hall, knelt by the panda and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Po, I'm really sorry."

The panda just twitched once and lay there.

 **Hope you enjoyed the first chapter- I appreciate any reviews! I'll do my best to update regularly, so favourite this if you liked it! That way you won't miss any new chapters.**


	2. Spleen

"Master Shifu?" asked Viper uncertainly, peering into the meditation hall. "Uh... is now a good time?"

At first Master Shifu did not answer. Then, he sighed, and said calmly, "I will tell you what I once told a certain panda. Now is simply a _time._ There is no good or bad."

"Um... ah." Viper did not quite know what to say to that. "So... now's a good time?"

Shifu sighed deeper. "What is it, Viper?"

Viper took a breath. "Well, Master, see, Po's been, uh, incapacitated? By Tigress? And we don't think he'll be able to come to the Emperor's Christmas performance? Is that... alright?"

Shifu snapped open his eyes. "Alright? Viper, that is most certainly not alright. Po is the Dragon Warrior. It is his duty to attend this performance, just as it is the Emperor's duty to know China's saviour. Showing off his skills at the performance this year may be Po's only chance to show potential villains what he can do, to deter them from attacking China," he explained. Then he paused. "Incapacitated by Tigress, you say? A year ago, I would hardly blink at the news, but today?" He turned to her, eyes wide. "Hold on. Where was he hit?"

"Er... in the... spleen?" Viper felt lost in Shifu's train of thought.

"The spleen! You sure?" Shifu was sceptical. "Does the panda even know where his spleen _is_?"

"Um..."

"Was he hurt on the right or left of his lower chest?" demanded Shifu. This could be more serious than he had imagined.

Viper was glad to be sure of one thing. "Right. Definitely right."

Shifu took in a sharp breath. "He has been hit in the liver. Viper, the liver is in charge of the smooth flow of qi (energy) throughout the body. Being hit in exactly the right spot can be disastrous." Shifu was already standing up. "I must tend to him before it is too late. An imbalance of qi can have a detrimental impact on both the individual and-" he shuddered. "-those around him. I will explain later, but for now, I must do what I can."

Viper blinked, and her master was gone. Talk about the dramatic exit.

 **Thank you, readers! Please review- any feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	3. Whaa

"Po!" Shifu cried.

The panda's face was slightly grey, and on closer inspection so were the whites of his eyes. His form lay slumped on the ground, muscles weary. To Po, the world was bleak in varying shades of grey through droopy eyes. Only Tigress's bright red vest stood out, and it was keeping him from slipping into slumber.

"Po, I'm really sorry... not that it helps..." she trailed off.

"Shifu, what can you do?" asked Monkey.

"What can we do?" chimed Viper.

"It'll be ok, Po..." Tigress mumbled, not confident in her words. She did not have to hear Shifu's explanation to Viper to know that she had kicked him in a most dangerous place.

The Five started talking at once. They argued about Po's condition, what could be done if he couldn't recover in time for the Christmas performance, about how best to help, until Shifu spoke.

"The question," he said quietly, examining Po, "is what can _he_ do."

Po had just enough energy to get out a weary "Whaa..." before he slumped into slumber. But he did not even have the energy to snore.

 **Hey everyone! I haven't updated this story in like 6 months but here is the next chapter now! I will update during the coming holidays next week, so don't worry. I know all my chapters are quite short but it lets me structure my story better (just personally). Thank you for reading!**


	4. Dream Dumplings

*In Po's dreams*

 _The first thing he felt was the soft, cool, dew-covered grass on which he was lying. The first thing he smelled was boiling dumplings with soy sauce. The first thing he tasted was a dryness in his mouth. The first thing he heard was Master Oogway's voice rousing him gently. And the first thing he saw was his Master's face, wrinkled yet energetic._

 _And the first thing he tasted was a boiled dumpling with soy sauce, shoved into his mouth by the Master._

 _He sat up. "Master, am I in that golden realm again? The one where I rode the dragon and you were dead and everything was gold? And you had that cool staff?"_

 _"No, Po," he explained patiently. "This is quite the opposite. This is a dream. Also, nothing is gold. Unless, that is, you want it to be."_

 _Immediately Po's surroundings turned a rich hue of gold. "WOAH. That is awesomely cool."_

 _"It is, isn't it? You do not have enough energy to actually go to the spirit realm. But you can make this whatever you want. It is your dream, after all."_

 _"Master Oogway, why am I here?"_

 _The tortoise smiles conspiratorially. "To eat dumplings, of course." And he pushed a bowl closer to Po. "They will give you strength."_

 _"Ooh.. dream dumplings? How could I refuse?" The chopsticks lay forgotten as Po demolished the bowl._

 _"Feeling energised?"_

 _"Oh, you bet."_

 _"Then wake."_

But Po did not wake.

Learn to prono

 _._


End file.
